An Indian restaurant in Dartford has bagged the title of Regional Takeaway of the Year in the South East at the Asian Restaurant and Takeaway Awards.

Polash, the Indian takeaway on Princes Road, won the prestigious award on Sunday (October 2) at the InterContinental Hotel in the O2 arena.

Polash was established in 1991 and has since been recognised as one of the best Indian takeaways in the Dartford area – bringing real flavour and traditional taste of Indian and Bangladeshi food.

The Asian Restaurant and Takeaway awards is the largest celebration of Britain’s vibrant Asian restaurants and takeaway industry.

Hosted by Samantha Simmonds, BBC journalist and broadcaster, and Paul Martin, magician and member of the world-famous Magic Circle, the coveted awards are in recognition of the UK’s best of South Asian cuisine across a series of prestigious regional and national categories.

The Asian Restaurant and Takeaway awards spotlighted the pinnacle of over 2,370 restaurants and takeaways across the UK that were nominated by the restaurant goers and food lovers of over 700,000 customer base of Chef Online – the digital application to order food and book tables on the go – to unveil the finalists.

The winners were selected by an esteemed panel of ambassadors and judges comprising of Chand Rahman, Mohammed Mujibur Rahman, Ex-Mayor of Corby; and Graham Taylor.

Restaurants were awarded based on three key factors: Quality of Food, Quality of Service, and Value for Money, followed by the score, which includes Food Hygiene Rating and reviews from websites like TripAdvisor and Google.

Restaurants that made it through the gruelling first phase were judged and invited to participate in a Cook-Off Competition.

The UK’s Curry industry contributes £5 billion annually, which as of 2015 has accounted for a fifth of the restaurants in the UK dating back to the 1800’s.

Today, there are more Indian restaurants in Greater London than in Delhi and Mumbai combined.

The awards were in celebration and recognition of Britain’s vibrant Asian restaurants and takeaways and offered solidarity and morale for the industry which is currently facing headwinds including with the high cost of energy, inflation, and the impact from the pandemic.

Salik Mohammed Munim, founder of the awards, said: “The Asian Restaurant and Takeaway awards 2022 are a celebration and recognition of Britain’s vibrant Asian restaurants, takeaways, and chefs. Since the inception of the awards, we have clearly seen the phenomenal quality of entrants, and the bar set by each, and every nominee has been increasing each year.

“I am truly blown away by the standards set by the competition and having been privy to exceptional quality and service extended by the nominees, I can confidently assert that Asian culinary industry in Britain is in safe hands.

“Every nominee and winner should be proud of their work.

“The Asian Restaurant and Takeaway awards 2022 is extremely special for us, as it has returned after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

“The gathering was emotional and symbolic, as it brought together members of the Asian cuisine industry during an exceptionally difficult and testing time.

“The cost of energy crisis is a real threat to the sector, and many are faced with the prospect of closing doors after having served their local communities and patrons for decades. This has been a back-to-back assault on the sector, which was recently reeling and recovering from the pandemic, and staffing shortages post-Brexit.

“It was a poignant moment for us all, to be together and extend moral support and well-wishes. I truly wish us all the very best.”

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